The present invention relates to a detachable half shaft assembly of a vehicle wheel end.
Wheel ends and bearing assemblies for motor vehicles are known and have been widely used in the automotive industry for many years. A wheel end of a vehicle may include a half shaft, a disc rotor cooperating with the half shaft, a preloaded bearing assembly disposed about the half shaft and mounted to a steering knuckle by means of fasteners or interference fittings, and a shaft bell cooperating with the half shaft opposite the disc rotor. A preloaded bearing assembly may include an inner race having raceways formed thereon and an outer race having raceways formed thereon wherein the inner and outer races cooperate with each other to house ball bearings or taper roller bearings within the raceways.
Although current vehicle wheel end assembly designs are adequate, there is a challenge to manufacture wheel ends that are serviceable while maintaining preload of the bearing assembly. For example, many of the current designs of wheel ends include a preloaded bearing assembly which, upon service of the wheel end, requires disassembly of the preloaded bearing assembly. As a result, the preload of the bearing assembly is dissipated from the wheel end, requiring additional time for preload of the bearing assembly upon re-assembly.
Thus, there is a need to provide a vehicle wheel end assembly configured to allow for a more time efficient serviceability thereof.